The Stellantis automotive group, which owns brands such as Peugeot, Citroën, and Opel, will manufacture its future small electric cars in Spain. This is confirmed by sources familiar with the process, according to CincoDías.
The company plans to invest over 1 billion euros to establish its STLA Small production platform in its factories in Zaragoza and Vigo.
This platform will be used to produce small electric cars starting from 2025.
The Madrid plant, the smallest of the three in Spain, will not have this platform for the time being.
Taking into account the Electric and Connected Vehicle Strategic Program (Perte VEC II), the company aims to secure around 150 million euros in loans and grants from the value chain.
In addition to the over one billion euros in investment for the introduction of the STLA Small platform, there will be other smaller projects, according to sources.
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that the French government had intended to secure the STLA Small for Stellantis’ French factories.
In turn, the French government requested the production of the Peugeot 208 electric to be moved to France, a model that is not made with the STLA Small but is a successful one for the group. Stellantis, on the other hand, intends to assemble it in Zaragoza.
This bidding war became public in July when the French Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, stated that Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, should “face the challenge” of producing small electric cars in France, as they offer the most workload due to their higher production volume.
Le Maire, who called for “patriotism” to bring the Peugeot e-208 to France, and then recalled all the public assistance that the manufacturer had received from the French state.
However, Tavares stated that producing the electric 208 in France is not economically viable.
“The economic equation associated with relocating this project would not be of interest to either the company or the country,” Tavares told Le Figaro.
A week after Le Maire’s statements, the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Héctor Gómez, defended the national production strengths to secure the Peugeot e-208.
“The manufacturing plant in Zaragoza has achieved quality results, energy efficiency, productivity, and social climate that make it the most competitive candidate,” he stated.
Bet on Spain
Stellantis is currently the largest car manufacturer in Spain, producing both conventional and electric vehicles across its national plants.
In the case of Vigo, the largest facility, the company manufactures the Peugeot e-2008 and electric vans such as the Peugeot e-Rifter, e-Partner, Citroën ë-Berlingo, Opel Combo-e, and Fiat E-Doblò.
In Figueruelas (Zaragoza), the manufacturer produces the Opel Corsa-e, while in Madrid, it manufactures the electric versions of the Citroën C4 and Citroën C4 X.
Including combustion engine vehicles, the automaker produced over 851,000 units in Spain in 2022, accounting for 38.4% of the country’s total production.
